The modern TTC (known back then as the Toronto Transportation Commission) launches after a 30-year franchise by the privately-owned Toronto Railway Company (TRC) expired. At the time, Toronto was criss-crossed by streetcars owned by private companies such as the TRC, as well as the city-run Toronto Civic Railways - Nine separate fare systems had to be integrated into a unified TTC system - Over the next 12 years, the TTC added 35 new streetcar routes and extended another 20, while also running 23 routes in the suburbs - thestar.com